Air circulating means and mounting therefor



May 27, 1941. i W Q NESS ETAL 2,243,114

y AIR` CIRCULATING .MEANS AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed June 2 4, 1940 46Z// W/L/AM A( 6. /Vfss JAMES Ha M55,

1 7 VENTORS. B/

Patented May 27, 1941 AER CHRCULATING lVIEAN S AND MOUNTING THEREFO'RWilliam Henry. `Clay Ness and James F. Holmes, assignorsy to NationalCornice WorksLos Angeles, Calif.

Application June 24,1940, Serial No. 342,666

(C1.V ft2-24).

Los Angeles, Calif.,

23 Claims.

The present invention relates to an air circulating means mounted on ahatch cover and applicable to ice bunkers of the conventionalreirigerator cars for what we term pre-cooling purposes.

One of theirnportant objects of the invention is to provide as anarticle of manufacture, a hatch cover to which is applied an aircirculating means adapted to be suspended into'an ice bunker which, as aunit is operated exteriorly of'the'car.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide, in a portable substitutehatch cover, vand an adjustable twin unit air circulating meansdepending therefrom and' operable by means fastened to the hatch coverexteriorly of the car; an improved canvas throat or bellows arrangementfor delivering the air inducedk from the bunker'by the fan to thecar/through the bunker screen.

A further object is to provide, in a canvas throat construction fordelivering air from a fan, improved means for Imaintaining the mouth ofthe -t-hroatinY a denite, efficiently operative position 'with relationto the bunker screen through which the air is expelled; notwithstandingthe flexible character of the canvas used in saidv throat.

A further object of thev invention is to provide an improvedarrangementvof parts to cooperate with the hatch cover, which -wi-llpermit said cover to seal properly at all times the opening which itoverlies, regardless of variation, within certain lim-its, of the heightof the ice in the bunker.

A still further object of the invention is -to provide an improved meansfor adjusting the position of the motor shaft whichfdrives thefan-operating belt, in such a manner as to maintain the belt properlytensioned notwithstanding necessary changes in the positions of the fan.

Other objects, advantages, and features of invention will hereinafterappear.

Referring to the accompany drawing, which illustrates what is at presentdeemed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention now reduced topractice and being used in the trade,

Fig. l is a full vertical transverse section taken through the icebunker of a refrigeratorcar, the plane ci a portion of which isindicated by the line I-- on Fig. 4.

Fig, 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical.section, the line 2 2 on Fig. 1 L,

indicating the plane of the sectioned portions of the views.

Fig. 3 is a perspective, showing separately the article of manufactureprovided by the invention, partsthereor being broken away in order tocontract the View.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional pla-n taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. v

Referring in detail to the drawing, the main parts of the portablestructure are the hatch cover Il), motor Il' secured to the upper sideof said cover, said cover having through it an opening Within which isfitted a sleeve l2 and a tubular member i3 slidably fitted within saidsleeve, said tubular member carrying at its lower endV the two-partblower it.

The assembly of portable parts which have been enumerated cooperateswith the car construction shown, said car construction comprising theice bunker section which is walledY off from the-body portion of thecar12l by means of the partition i9 Vwhich is held inV place Yby posts231'and includes the canvas baille 22 for coveringA portions of theopening 22u to prevent short circuiting kof the air from the blower, abody' of icefcubes 2B being shown occupying the bunker.

As best shown in Fig. 2,the motor l! is furnished with a base 25 whichrests upon a pair of upper angle iron runners or supports ZES-,theseangle iron yparts being in a parallel spaced relation to each other andbeing positioned between a lower pair of angle iron basepieces 2l, toone end portion of which they are pivotally connected by means of apivot shaft 23. Below said shaft 23 are base blocks 2S which supporttheoverlying end` portions -of the angle irons 21, and at theopposite-endsvoi said angle irons 21 are supporting base blocksV 3Q, allof said base blocks being secured in any suitable manner to theupper-side of the cover lil. The angle iron members 2t, above the baseblocks 30,have set screws 32 threaded through them, the lower ends ofsaid set screws abutting against the lower angle irons 21,thussupporting in a more or less tilted position the angle iron members2t upon which the motor base 25 rests. Locks nuts 35 serve to. maintainthe screws 32 in their adjusted positions. Y

Said pivot shaft 23 is removable, thus making it possible leasily toremove the motor Il together with its angle iron supports 26 from theremainder of the structure and protect the motor by storingy it in asuitable place after it has been used to operate the blower and thusbring about a cooled condition of the contents of the car. The belt 64may be allowed to remain in the tubular member I 3.

The sleeve I2, by preference and as shown, is rectangular in transversesection, and it is provided with an external ange or collar 4B whichrests upon the upper surface of the cover I and thus supports the sleevein its operative position. Within this sleeve snugly ts the tubularmember I3 in a slidable manner, a set screw 4I being provided tomaintain said member I3 in its vertical adjustment within said sleeve.

The blower construction I4, which is carried by said tubular member I3,comprises a twopart scroll casing 42 which abuts against each ofopposite sides of the lower part of the tubular member I3, an invertedcap 43 closing this part of the tubular member, said member and capbeing shown provided respectively with anges 44 and 45 which are weldedor otherwise secured together. The blower casings 42 have outwardlydirected central air intake openings 46, the ingress of air into theseopenings being indicated by the arrows 41. Said casings 42 are shownfurnished with tangential air outlet openings 49 above which are thedeflectors 50 which deflect the issuing air currentssomewhat downwardly.Y

The canvas throats I also guide and direct the air currents dischargedfrom the blower casings 42 through the screen openings into the car.Said canvas throats are furnished with marginal frames 52 whereby theyare attached to the edge portions of the openings 49. The somewhatexpanded outer end of each canvas throat 5I carries, in a somewhatspaced relation to its outer edge, a light but rigid wire border frame53 to prevent collapse of the adjacent part of the canvas. Outwardlybeyond said frame the edge of the canvas carries the two intersectingflexible strips 54 which constitute a cross webbing which the issuingstream of air acts upon with a sufficient force to keep the throatmember 5I in its extended position against the screen, so that the partthereof which carries the outer frame 53 will not drop down to a pendentposition while the blower is in operation. Said blower is shown providedwith conventional centrifugal fans 60 carried by opposite end portionsof a common shaft 6I.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3, where the inverted cap 43 isshown in transverse section, said cap has the blower casings 42 weldedor otherwise secured to its opposite outer faces, and the double walledstructure provided at each side thereof is apertured to provide openingsfor the shaft 6I, bearings 62 being mounted internally of said cap ateach side thereof to rotatably support said shaft. BeA tween thesebearings said shaft has secured to it a driving pulley 63 around whichpasses the lower end of an endless belt 64. The upper end of belt 64passes over a driving pulley 65 fixed to the motor shaft 66. Bearings 62are sup`- ported by a flange 62x.

Describing more in detail the construction of each ice bunker section ofthe car, the partition I9 is composed of two parallel vertical walls 6land 68, a portion of the wall 61 being of retioulated character andpositioned in a contacting relation to the body of ice in the bunkerwhen the bunker is in a filled condition, and the other wall 68 havingan air opening 68a in its lower portion communicating with the spacebetween said two walls and guarded by a screen 68h. Above said opening68a the wall 68 is of a substantially air-tight character up to a pointWhere it terminates in a downwardly spaced relation to the ceiling 2Icof the car, at which point it has a laterally directed portion 68x whichcloses the upper end of the air space between said two walls. Above saidpart 68a: the air space or opening 22a, already mentioned, extends fromside to side of the car. This opening is guarded by the alreadymentioned pendent canvas baille 22 which extends the entire length ofthe opening and which has its upper edge portion secured to a downwardlyprojecting car ceiling portion 2Id. This pendent bafiie overlies theside of said opening 22a farthest from the blower to prevent a shortcircuiting of the air current from the blower. rPhe intake air openingI4a of the blower is located in a superadjacent relation to the ice inthe lbunker when the latter is in a lled condition and, by preference asshown, said intake opening is directed horizontally and at asubstantially right angle to the air delivery opening of the blower.

The above described. arrangement of parts of the ice bunker and blowerprovides for the circulation of the air in the advantageous mannerindicated by arrows in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, and possess the additionaladvantage of locating the motor outside of the interior of the car sothat its operation does not generate any heat therewithin.

There is an ice bunker partitioned off in the manner stated in each endportion of the car.

Owing to the motor at all times being located outside of the spaceenclosed by the car, the heat generated by its operation does not passinto the interior of the car and to any extent offset the refrigeratingeffect.

A gasket or lining member 15, underlies each cover I0 to make anair-tight t between it and the rim or ridge I6 which surrounds theopening that said cover overlies.

Although the ice cubes 24 are shown somewhat symmetrically spaced in thedrawing to expedite drafting, it is to be understood that the cubes willbe sufficiently broken up to allow necessary circulation of airtherethrough.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only, and that this invention includes all modificationsand' equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matterclaimed.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an eXtensible tubecarried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said cover isin its operative position, an air blower carried by the lower portion ofsaid tube, a belt having its lower end portion operatively related tosaid lblower, a motor mounted upon said cover and furnished with a shaftcarrying a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, andmeans to adjustably maintain said motor and shaft in various tiltedpositions to maintain a proper tension in said belt when said extensibletube is varied in length.

2. In a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an extensible tubecarried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said cover isin its operative position, an air blower carried by the lower portion ofsaid tube, a belt having its lower end portion operatively related tosaid blower, a motor mounted upon said cover and furnished with a shaftcarrying a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, andvertically adjustable supporting means for said motor and shaft tomaintain the proper tension in'said belt when said. extensible tube isvaried in length.

3. As an article of manufacture an air fan and its mounting comprising ahatch for closing the opening of a cars ice bunker, there being anopening extending through said hatch and a blower support fastened tosaid hatch and having a part provided with a passage, a portion of whichextends upwardly and downwardly through said opening, an air blower,including a tube, the open end of which is slidably mounted in thepassage in said part, a motor mounted on the top side of said hatch,said motor having a driving shaft, a pulley mounted on said shaft andoverlying the opening of said tube, a-nd an endless belt passing overthe pulley of said motor and extending into said tube where it isoperatively related to the said air blower to drive the latter.

4. As an article of manufacture an air fan and its mounting comprising ahatch for closing the opening 'of a cars ice bunker, there being anopening extending through said hatch and a blower support fastened tosaid hatch and having a part provided with a passage, a portion of whichextends upwardly and downwardly through said opening, an air blower,said blower having an intake opening and a discharge opening for the airinduced through its intake opening, a .canvas throat constructionfastened to its discharge opening, and cross webbing uniting the outeredges of the sides comprising said throat, said webbing being positionedin the path of the issuing air current thus to maintain said throat inan extended condition during the operation of the blower.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 and, said throat carrying a stiifeningframe which extends around it adjacent to its outer edge.

6. In a structure of the kind described, in combination, a car bodyhaving an end portion of its interior walled off from the remainder ofits enclosed space by a vertical partition thereby forming an icebunker, said partition comf at which point it has a laterally directedportion which closes the upper end of the air space between said twowalls, a pendent support resting upon the car roof and extendingdownwardly into said ice bunkena blower sustained by said support in theupper portion of said ice bunker, said blower having an air dischargeopening positioned to discharge a current of air into the body of thecar along a path super-adjacent to the aforesaid laterally extendingpart of said partition, there being an elongated opening extending fromside to side of the car through which such air discharge takes place, apendent canvas baiile overlying the side of said elongated openingfarthest from the blower to prevent a short circuiting of the aircurrent from the blower, said blower having an air intake openingsuper-adjacent to the ice in the bunker when the latter is in a filledcondition, and means to operatesaid blower from the exterior of the car.

7...' The subject matter of claim 6 and, said air intakefopening beingdirected horizontally :and at substantially a` right angle to theaforesaid air discharge opening.

8. yIn, a device for car refrigeration, a hatch cover, an extensibletube carried thereby and projecting downwardly therefrom when said coveris in its operative position, an air blower carried .by the lowerportion-of said tube, a belt -having .its lower end portion operativelyrelated to. said blower, a motor, tiltable means whereby said motor issupported upon said cover, said motor .being furnished with a shaftprovided with a pulley over which the upper end of said belt passes, andmeans to adjustably support said tiltable means at various inclinationsto. maintain a proper tension in said belt when said extensible tube isvaried in length.

9. The subject matter of claim 8 and, said tiltable means beingfurnished with a removable pivot shaft, thus making it convenientlyremovable, together with the motor mounted thereon.

l0. The subject matter of claim 8 and, the adjustable supporting meansfor said tiltable means including an upstanding screw member carried bysaidY tiltable means and an abutment upon which the lower end of said.screw member rests.

ll. The combination with a freight car having an ice bunker and a ladingspace therein; of apparatus for moving air through the bunker and. intothe lading space of said car; said car having a roof overlying thebunker and a bulkhead separating the `space within the bunker from saidlading space and constructed and arranged to provide an openingcommunicating with the upper portion of the bunker space and an openingcommunicating with the lower portion ofthe space within said bunker; andsaid apparatus including a hatch cover having an opening therein, adriving device carried by the upper side of the cover; a tubular elementclosed at its lower end and extending through the opening in said hatchcover, a blower carried by said tubular element, means extending throughsaid tubular element and connecting said driving device to said blower,and means for conducting air discharged from said blower to the openingcommunicating with the upper portion of the ice bunker.

l2. VStructure of the type set forth in claim 11 in which a screensection extends across said opening communicating with the upper portionof said bunker and in which said air conducting means comprises anexible element constructed and arranged to be extended from the blowerelement into Contact with said screen by the air discharged from saidblower.

i3. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigeratorcar having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wallwith an opening therethrough, a roof extending ever said bunker and ahatchway through I the roof, a cover plate detachably applied over thehatchway, an opening through said cover plate, a motor mounted on thecover plate exteriorly of the car, a blower element supported by andsuspended below the cover plate into the bunker, said blower elementhaving an air outlet adjacent said bunker wall opening and an air inletcommunicating with the bunker interior, and means operatively connectingthe blower element to the motor through the opening in the cover plate,

14. Precooling apparatus comprising, in com- Abination with arefrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load spaceby a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over saidbunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover detachably overlying thehatchway, an opening through said cover, a motor mounted atop the cover,a blower element comprising a housing suspended from the cover and ablower wheel rotatably mounted in the housing, said housing having anoutlet opposite the bunker wall opening and an inlet communicating withthe bunker interior, and means extending through said cover opening andoperatively connecting the blower wheel to the motor.

15. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigeratorcar having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wallwith an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and ahatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably resting on the roofin position overlying the hatchway, an opening through the cover plate,a motor mounted on the cover plate exteriorly of the car, a hollowcasing secured at its top end in the cover plate opening, a blowerhousing carried by the lower end of the casing, a blower fan in thehousing and having a drive shaft extending transversely of the casing, apulley on the drive shaft, and a belt operatively connecting the pulleyat the motor.

16. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigeratorcar having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wallwith an opening therethrough, a roof extending over said bunker and ahatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably resting on the roofin position overlying the hatchway, an opening through the cover plate,a motor mounted on the cover plate exteriorly of the car, a hollowcasing secured at its top end in the cover plate opening, a blowerhousing carried by the lower end of the casing, a blower fan in thehousing and having a drive shaft extending transversely of the casing, apulley on the drive shaft, a belt operatively connecting the pulley tothe motor, and wall means in the casing closing air communicationbetween the bunker interior and the casing.

17. Precooling apparatus comp-rising, in 4combination with arefrigerator car having an ice bunker separated from the car load spaceby a wall with an opening therethrough, a roof extending over saidbunker and a hatchway through the roof, a cover plate detachably appliedover the hatchway, an opening through said cover plate, a motor mountedon the cover plate, a blower element supported by and suspended belowthe cover plate into the bunker, said blower element having an airoutlet adjacent said bunker wall opening and an air inlet communicatingwith the bunker interior, a tubular bellows secured at its inlet end tothe said air outlet and functioning to automatically expand towards thebunker wall opening by virtue of air pressure created by the blowerelement, and means operatively connecting the blower element to themotor through the opening in the cover plate.

18. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigeratorcar having an ice bunker separated from the car load space by a wallwith an opening therethrough, a screen overlying said opening, a roofextending over said bunker and a hatchway through the roof, a coverplate detachably applied over the hatchway, an opening through saidcover plate, a motor mounted on the cover plate, a blower elementsupported by and suspended below the cover plate into the bunker, saidblower element having an air outlet adjacent said bunker wall openingandan air in'let communicating with the bunker interior, alongitudinally collapsible tube secured at its inlet end to the said airoutlet and functioning to automatically expand to bear at its outlet endagainst the screen by virtue of air pressure created by the blowerelement, a flexible cross strip extending across the discharge end ofsaid tube and having its ends secured to the tube side wall, and meansoperatively connecting the blower element to the motor through theopening in the cover plate.

19. Precooling apparatus including in combination with a refrigeratorcar having a roof, an ice bunker separated from the car load space by awall having an opening therethrough adjacent the roof and a hatchwayopening into the bunker through the roof, a blower unit comprising acover plate removably mounted to cover the hatchway, saidv cover platehaving a squared opening therethrough, a hollow casing of squaredcross-section whose upper end projects through and is secured in saidhatchway cover opening, two oppositely disposed blower housings securedto the lower end of the casing, a drive shaft journalled at itsrespective ends in said housings and disposed about an axis of rotationtransverse of the casing, a pair of blower wheels secured on said shaft,one positioned in each of, said housings, a drive pulley secured on saidshaft intermediate said blower wheels, a motor mounted atop saidhatchway cover adjacent said hatchway opening, and a drive beltextending longitudinally of the casing and operatively connecting themotor to the drive pulley.

20. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a refrigeratorcar having a partition with an air-passing opening therethrough, meansfor moving air through said opening, including a fan unit mounted in thecar and having an air delivery conduit whose discharge endis normallyspaced from said opening, said conduit having a tubular fabric portionfunctioning to expand' towards the opening by virtue of air passingtherethrough from the fan unit.

21. Precooling apparatus comprising, in ycombination with a refrigeratorcar having an opening through its roof and an ice bunker separated fromthe car loadspace by a partition having an air passing openingtherethrough, means for moving air through said last mentioned' opening,including a motor mounted atop and disposed exteriorly of the car, meansfor supporting the motor, a fan unit, means suspending the fan unit fromthe last mentionedy means into the car in a position aol-jacent saidpartition opening, and means operatively connecting the fan unit to themotor.l

22. Precooling apparatus comprising, in combination with a. refrigeratorcar having an ice bunker separated from the car loading space by a wallhaving an opening therethrough, a roof over said bunker, a hatchwaythrough said roof, a cover plate overlying the hatchway, an openingthrough the cover plate, a motor mounted atop the cover plate, a tubularmember mounted in the cover plate opening and extending downwardly intothe bunker, a blower element secured to the tubular member Within thebunker, a drive member extending longitudinally in the tubular memberand operatively connecting the motor to the blower element, a wallseparating the blower element from the interior of the tubular memberand a gasket establishing a seal between the hatchway andsaid coverplate.

23. In a refrigerator car having a wall separating the car interior intoa bunker and a loading space, an air passing opening through and eX-tendng transversely of the wall, a vertical post supporting the wall,said' post being spaced from the side edges of the wall and extendingacross said opening, a roof over the bunker and means for moving airfrom the bunker into the loading space through said opening including apair of blower housings, means suspending the housings from the roof.into the bunker opposite said opening, drive means positioned betweenthe housings and an air outlet in each of the housings, o-ne of saidoutlets communicating with the opening at one side of said post and theother of said outlets communicating with the opening at the other, sideof the post, a blower wheel rotatably mounted in each of the housingsand means operatively 10 connecting said wheels to said drive means.

WILLIAM HENRY CLAY NESS. JAM'ES F. HOLMES.

